Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Bloody hell, I didn't even mention my number one concern...!

The parlous state of secondary education here. The perfect storm of a disinterested government, poorly educated teachers, a lack of teacher and school accountability, hopelessly disorganised (and riddled with vested interests) dept for education and a bloated curriculum council with no direction.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Sorry all - nipped out to Bunnings!

OK - where to start...?

I've always been ambivalent about Australia. It's certainly a great place but it never quite does it for me. I don't have the enthusiasm of many on here.
Increasingly I'm getting to the stage when I can't see the point in being here.

Well, I do know, the weather is fantastic - which admittedly leads to lots of other good things. It is truly great for young families.

But the downsides are significant and I think I've got to the point when I can no longer justify taking the negatives for the few positives.

Ultimately, the downsides for us are financial and lifestyle.

In terms of finance, I cannot now see any benefit in staying here. Salaries other than in the mining sector (and possibly the trades if you own your own business) are hopelessly poor. At least they are in education. There is little hope that education salaries will increase under this state government (indeed I think the status of teachers here is unbelievably low) and promotion opportunities are relatively rare due to the size of the population (senior management positions here are also poorly paid and I'm not sure they are worth the stress).

House prices are certainly lower than a year ago but are still overpriced in my view for what you get. Quality in general is poor and houses that are affordable for average salary earners are often in truly bland suburbs. When I arrived in Perth I could not understand what was meant by a "nice suburb" (with the exception of the obvious river suburbs). Nearly 3 years later and I still can't see the difference between Kingsley, Padbury, Craigie, Joondalup, Willeton, Duncraig, Carine - even City Beach etc etc - they are all as bland as grey paint. I sometimes sit in my front room looking at the dull houses out of the window and really question what I'm doing here. I do now understand why ""Sea glimpses" are such selling points. They dilute the blandness.

The dollar is strong so bringing cash over gives you a paper loss compared with when we did our calculations. Mortgage rates at 10% are truly unbelievable. Interest rates are unlikely to go down soon.

I'm also increasingly frustrated by vested interests in Australia. Real estate agents being the typical example. But pharmacists, doctors, trade organisations, Coles/Woolworths, trade union leaders, dentists, the AFL... I find it ironic that the so called fair-go psyche of Australia is constantly subjugated by the vested interests of these groups. Aussies don’t seem to realise this. Or choose to ignore the irony.

I’m fed up of local politicians being unable to string a coherent sentence together. Yesterday I heard the mayor of Perth stating categorically that ”isn’t it amazing that the Australians with a population of 20 million have managed to get their currency to near parity with the US dollar – a country with 180 million?.”. Can you believe that somebody in such an influential position could say this? Is it any wonder that you can’t buy a loaf of bread in Perth on Sunday or after 5pm mid-week? WA has an amazing opportunity to be a world leader in so many areas – health, education, infrastructure – and yet with the group of baboons running the place it remains a completely mismanaged administration.

I’m tired of the parochialism. Sick of hearing “Australia is God” comments. Fed up of the undercurrent of anti-Islamic comment here (no, I'm not muslim, neither is my wife)

So where to go? Anywhere really. I know that many of the issues I’ve raised above are present in many other countries but I’m now struggling to find any compelling reason to stay in Australia to suffer the issues. I’ve just returned from Singapore which gave me a yearning again for SE Asia (Vash, let me stop you, I know that Singapore is an authoritarian state where you can’t fart without permission etc etc etc). At least abroad I’d get my accommodation paid for and I’d be financially much better off. You can ignore a lot of issues if you’re paid enough (which is why some of the miners stay in WA).

I’m not in a desperate rush to leave. But the last week has been a kind of epiphany for me. Life is too short to spend it sitting in a non-descript suburb of Perth looking at the blue sky.

Originally Posted by michael_w

" ...vested interests in Australia. Real estate agents being the typical example. But pharmacists, doctors, trade organisations, Coles/Woolworths, trade union leaders, dentists, the AFL... I find it ironic that the so called fair-go psyche of Australia is constantly subjugated by the vested interests of these groups. Aussies don’t seem to realise this. Or choose to ignore the irony."

So true. I work in health and the brazen pursuit of self interest by groups like the AMA and the Pharmacy Guild just takes my breath away. I also find it odd that the "fair go" Aussies don't object to private schools and private hospitals getting massive (and I mean billions) taxpayer subsidies.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

....not tomorrow but from now I am actively looking for work overseas.

Could take a year or more before the ideal job appears (or could take a week!) but at least I've decided.

A recent trip abroad and the return here finally did it for me!

Originally Posted by brendarover

NKSK version 2,

Good luck, very brave of you to post such a thread on here, as it would make you a prime target for being lynched, but i have to say good post, good thread, nice to hear the other side of the coin, facts or peoples negative opinions of Australia that are sometimes not discussed more frequently on here. Cheers for the heads up, and good luck, at least you bought a ticket to the party, some do not even make it to the ticket shop!

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Fed up of the undercurrent of anti-Islamic comment here (no, I'm not muslim, neither is my wife)

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

I was talking to a doctor the other week about the pharmacists. Their power - at the expense of the patient - is truly gobsmacking.

For me the whole thing is linked to the "whinging pom" soubriquet. Australians either can't be arsed, cannot see or refuse to see the fact that they get shafted on many occasions. When people point out the inequities of the situation I don't know which of the above drives them but the issue often goes into the too hard basket with "whinging pom" attached.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Bloody hell, I didn't even mention my number one concern...!

The parlous state of secondary education here. The perfect storm of a disinterested government, poorly educated teachers, a lack of teacher and school accountability, hopelessly disorganised (and riddled with vested interests) dept for education and a bloated curriculum council with no direction.

Originally Posted by NKSK version 2

Sorry all - nipped out to Bunnings!

OK - where to start...?

I've always been ambivalent about Australia. It's certainly a great place but it never quite does it for me. I don't have the enthusiasm of many on here.
Increasingly I'm getting to the stage when I can't see the point in being here.

Well, I do know, the weather is fantastic - which admittedly leads to lots of other good things. It is truly great for young families.

But the downsides are significant and I think I've got to the point when I can no longer justify taking the negatives for the few positives.

Ultimately, the downsides for us are financial and lifestyle.

In terms of finance, I cannot now see any benefit in staying here. Salaries other than in the mining sector (and possibly the trades if you own your own business) are hopelessly poor. At least they are in education. There is little hope that education salaries will increase under this state government (indeed I think the status of teachers here is unbelievably low) and promotion opportunities are relatively rare due to the size of the population (senior management positions here are also poorly paid and I'm not sure they are worth the stress).

House prices are certainly lower than a year ago but are still overpriced in my view for what you get. Quality in general is poor and houses that are affordable for average salary earners are often in truly bland suburbs. When I arrived in Perth I could not understand what was meant by a "nice suburb" (with the exception of the obvious river suburbs). Nearly 3 years later and I still can't see the difference between Kingsley, Padbury, Craigie, Joondalup, Willeton, Duncraig, Carine - even City Beach etc etc - they are all as bland as grey paint. I sometimes sit in my front room looking at the dull houses out of the window and really question what I'm doing here. I do now understand why ""Sea glimpses" are such selling points. They dilute the blandness.

The dollar is strong so bringing cash over gives you a paper loss compared with when we did our calculations. Mortgage rates at 10% are truly unbelievable. Interest rates are unlikely to go down soon.

I'm also increasingly frustrated by vested interests in Australia. Real estate agents being the typical example. But pharmacists, doctors, trade organisations, Coles/Woolworths, trade union leaders, dentists, the AFL... I find it ironic that the so called fair-go psyche of Australia is constantly subjugated by the vested interests of these groups. Aussies don’t seem to realise this. Or choose to ignore the irony.

I’m fed up of local politicians being unable to string a coherent sentence together. Yesterday I heard the mayor of Perth stating categorically that ”isn’t it amazing that the Australians with a population of 20 million have managed to get their currency to near parity with the US dollar – a country with 180 million?.”. Can you believe that somebody in such an influential position could say this? Is it any wonder that you can’t buy a loaf of bread in Perth on Sunday or after 5pm mid-week? WA has an amazing opportunity to be a world leader in so many areas – health, education, infrastructure – and yet with the group of baboons running the place it remains a completely mismanaged administration.

I’m tired of the parochialism. Sick of hearing “Australia is God” comments. Fed up of the undercurrent of anti-Islamic comment here (no, I'm not muslim, neither is my wife)

So where to go? Anywhere really. I know that many of the issues I’ve raised above are present in many other countries but I’m now struggling to find any compelling reason to stay in Australia to suffer the issues. I’ve just returned from Singapore which gave me a yearning again for SE Asia (Vash, let me stop you, I know that Singapore is an authoritarian state where you can’t fart without permission etc etc etc). At least abroad I’d get my accommodation paid for and I’d be financially much better off. You can ignore a lot of issues if you’re paid enough (which is why some of the miners stay in WA).

I’m not in a desperate rush to leave. But the last week has been a kind of epiphany for me. Life is too short to spend it sitting in a non-descript suburb of Perth looking at the blue sky.

Originally Posted by theotherphil

Come to the UK....bland homes, small homes, expensive ++ homes, electric prices high enough to buy a small car (£1000pa), same with gas prices (£1000pa), £1100pa council tax (rates), UL fuel @ £1.10/litre - diesel @ £1.20/litre, tax on top of tax - the list goes on. Basically, I don't have much of a quality of life as I have to do all the overtime available just to pay the bills. I have to rent as I cannot afford a mortgage and never will even though I do earn decent money.

The grass isn't always greener